Itch
by Dukes126plus
Summary: There’s a persistent itch, but he’s trying to ignore it. He’ll get used to it. From the episode By-Line, Daisy Duke. /Warnings: slash, incest/


This one's from _By-Line, Daisy Duke_, and it's a little bit different from the others so far. This is the episode in which Luke's ring appears, and I wanted to acknowledge that in some way.

* * *

There's a persistent itch, but he's trying to ignore it. He'll get used to it.

In the meantime, him and Bo have plenty to do, trying to keep themselves from getting run over by an ugly truck, spending time in the cold lake waiting for Cooter to come fetch the General out, learning themselves a new trade (fence mending – they've only been doing that since Luke got strong enough to wield the post hole digger).

Then there's more time chasing and getting chased by the ugly truck (really, who would paint something orange when it's that big?), eventually getting run off the road, and having to dive out of the old pickup and tumble downhill. Actually, it's right there that the itch stops, if only for a couple of minutes. The pickup rolls down after them, and his cousin (the fool) runs the wrong way, into its path. Luckily enough, the bent hunk of metal stops before it would have hurt him anyway. In those breathless seconds the itch is forgotten, at least until Bo comes bounding back to over him, asking if he's okay. Yeah, well, he will be. He's twisted his arm and hit his head somewhere, but it'll only hurt until it heals. Luke checks Bo over; he's fine and that's more important anyway. The itch is back.

And just in time, too, because somehow the orange truck is on Duke land, loaded with a stolen tractor. Luke's not sure which is worse – the planted stolen property or the insinuation that the Duke boys would use such an ugly getaway vehicle. Either way, the sucker's got to go, and with Bo driving and Jesse following behind, Luke's fairly confident that they'll be fine. Nothing to do but lean back into the passenger seat and contemplate that itch that he hasn't gotten all the way accustomed to yet.

And wait for Daisy to have unbelievable luck with the bow and arrow they've been teaching her to use. Luke takes a minute to consider that it might have been better if she'd tipped that arrow with dynamite, blowing the offending truck to smithereens (except, of course, the boys would have gotten decimated, too) before they have to get out and face the babbling sheriff.

And, just like that, they're free again, roaming the countryside, trying to save the day, and all the while, Luke's itching. Hanging upside down from the Boar's Nest roof, taking the high road to Cooter's and enlisting Daisy's help; everything is tinged with that tickle that really ought to be more annoying than it is.

After a brief delay while Luke fixes the C.B. (and remembers that there are still things that he can teach Bo, like electronics) they are off at high speed again. It's football in car, and more fun than he usually gets to have when he's stuck riding shotgun while Bo does automobile acrobatics. He gets himself worried about a bit, reminded that he's not a squirrel, and that little itch is there again, even as he's grabbing a tree limb in both arms and pulling himself up. It stays with him through the whole game of catch, and never really lets up, even when Daisy's photo gets published in the Hazzard Gazette.

Eventually, though, the sun sets, even in Hazzard. Jesse and Daisy have earned their rest after another long day, and stagger off to bed right after dinner, never realizing that the boys aren't right behind them. They're up in the loft, sitting until Bo crawls up over him, forcing Luke to lie back, getting stabbed by the straw on the floor up there. There's a hand, Bo's left, threading its way into Luke's right, even as the kissing begins. Not a tight fitting hand, nor weight bearing. Bo's thumb slips across Luke's palm, joining the pinky already there, and touching that thing on Luke's last finger, the ring Bo put there last night. A gift that Luke hasn't figured out how to deal with yet, other than to wear it. Has no answers to give if anyone asks why he's got it or what it means; fortunately, it's Hazzard and no one may ever notice. It should be too early for this kind of claim staking; then again, he and Bo have loved each other all their lives, even if they've only recently started exploring what that really means.

There's a kiss, reminding Luke that there are better things to do than think all night. Bo's slender fingers work together to twist that ring on Luke's pinky, quarter turn and no more, but it's enough. The itch is gone, and Luke can concentrate fully on the task at hand.


End file.
